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OpenAI Confirms Data Breach Through Partner Mixpanel Exposing User Information

Risk Analytics

OpenAI Data Breach Via Mixpanel Exposes Users

Business Honor
13 December, 2025

Breach involves names, emails, and sensitive Organization IDs, raising concerns over targeted phishing attacks.

According to OpenAI's announcement, the company has confirmed it was the target of an API account personal data breach from an analytics provider called Mixpanel, revealing the seriousness of this incident given the enormous number of weekly active users (estimated at 800 million) that now rely on OpenAI services to work, learn, write and create code, and search for information. OpenAI has stated users should rest assured that their systems remain secure and that they will not to be able to access any sensitive information about customers (i.e., chat history, billing information, password, or API key). The leaked data included personal data from Mixpanel's network, including names, email addresses, Organization Id's, generalized geographic location, and technical meta-data from browser.

According to OpenAI, stolen information is classified as "limited" analytics data, a move many see as an attempt to downplay the seriousness of the breach. However, from the perspective of cybercriminals, this type of metadata has tremendous value. Having access to the identities and employment locations of users along with details on how the accounts are structured makes it easier for cybercriminals to pull off targeted phishing attacks and impersonations. One key aspect of the breach involves the exposure of Organization IDs, which are used for internal billing and account management within the OpenAI API ecosystem.

Developers familiar with OpenAI’s API know that Organization IDs are sensitive because they are essential to managing usage limits and for supporting users who have questions about how to use the API. It follows, therefore, that if someone is impersonating an organization by providing an Organization ID in a fraudulent billing alert or in communicating that they need help with an API support issue, it becomes much harder for users to determine whether the message is legitimate or fraudulent.